Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 6, 1917, Robert Mitchum became one of the greatest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age after a particularly misspent youth. A childhood prankster, he had been expelled from two schools and put on a Georgia chain gang for vagrancy by the time he was 15. His Depression-era wanderings eventually led Mitchum to California, where his sister Julie, a stage actress, inspired him to try the theater.

Film roles soon followed, largely in Westerns and war movies; Mitchum’s turn in THE STORY OF G.I. JOE earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. A string of appearances in such film noir favorites as OUT OF THE PAST and CROSSFIRE solidified the performer’s status as one of the screen’s top tough guys. A 1948 pot bust that ruined the career of girlfriend Lila Leeds only served to burnish Mitchum’s rebellious reputation - asked about his time behind bars, he told a reporter it was “like Palm Springs, but without the riff-raff.”

An anti-hero before there was a name for it, Mitchum was unforgettable as a villain - the sham preacher he played in THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER was truly the stuff of nightmares. Even when he was on the right side of the law, as a retired detective in THE YAKUZA, this was a man not to be trifled with. Or pigeonholed, for that matter: Mitchum gave one of his best performances in the epic period romance RYAN’S DAUGHTER.

Writer Susan King reflects on Robert Mitchum's life and career on our blog here.

Series compiled by John Hagelston and Grant Moninger. Program notes by John Hagelston.